Of Magics Old and New
by Aeoden
Summary: Someone lost from reality long ago is given a new life at Mahora Academy. Who is this Kono and what impact will she have on the flow of time as she is thrust into a series of events that will lead to her uncovering her past self. Note: Kono is not an OC. Warning:first story on .
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I not own the writes To Negima or any other intellectual property used in this story

AN: The main character of this story is not an original character. The character's identity (which I hope is not too hard to figure out for fans of her series) will eventually be revealed. And I should probably mention this is my first story here.

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><p>It seemed to be an eternity. An eternity within a void of nothingness. An eternity of darkness. An eternity with nothing to do but float endlessly in the abyss and reminisce. With her eyes closed to help replace the perfect blackness with the past. Those days of freedom in a world with friends. She could never see them again and feared that soon even her memories would be lost to eternity. She was already having a hard time picturing their faces and was no longer sure if that was truly them. However she feared this eventuality and lamented her eternity, she would never cry. She could not allow herself to do so for she felt it a bitter betrayal to them. If she gave into sorrow, she would regret her final decision. Her sacrifice. She had given up everything for them. If given the choice, she would gladly do it again.<p>

She was not alone in her prison. Though there was nothing to see, her captor was surely there. She had only ever spoken to her only once. At that time, it was when she first awoke here. She was learned of her fate and was given one gift. The knowledge that her friends had eventually found happy lives for themselves. While she knew not the details of this, the fact that they lived happily ever after had been a great gift. It had been the one thing that strengthened her resolve. It protected her individuality from fading. It kept her sane and whole.

"You truly never cease to amaze me," her captor broke the eternal silence with that same female voice," Anyone else who had been here would have long since faded."

Silence was all that followed for she would not give into this provocation.

"And as willful as ever," The voice spoke as something warm touched her face. Her eyes shot open at this and were greeted by a vision of a young girl shining gold. She seemed somehow familiar.

"Wha-!?" she croaked harshly from an eternity of silence.

"And still able to speak," The girl cut her off," It's very rare that one lasts so long here. So I have an idea. Do you care to hear it?"

She nodded in agreement to the gold figure. _I know that face... but where._ A smirk appear upon the glowing face.

"I'm sorry, I can't _hear_ you," The girl mocked.

"Y-yes," Was all she could manage as she tried to get speak. Memories of old conversations starting to surface. At this the golden figure smiled and clapped excitedly.

"Good!" The golden woman proclaimed warmly," I very much wanted to hear that. Now to the point I guess," The woman went on as she grabbed her prisoner's shoulders while smiling warmly," I've decided to let you see the world your friends and allies shaped after you saved them. To see their legacies... and yours."

As she listened to her captor, she finally realized whose body it was. It was her when she was ten. As the thought came to her, the body had disappeared instantly and the darkness of the void was replaced with gold. She was encompassed in its warmth.

"And the best way to see it... Is to experience this world," Her own mouth spoke against her will.

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><p>Konoe Konoemon sat at his office that night going through the usual paperwork. Some of it was for the Kanto Magic Association, but most of it was for the various schools of Mahora Academy. It was midnight and he barely had a quarter of it done. <em>Looks like it's too much to hope for a good night's sleep tonight... <em>The old man thought as he leaned back to look at the nighttime view of Mahora.

That was when he noticed something very wrong. The world tree was glowing. At this the old man quickly contacted his secretary and sent orders for an immediate investigation and to take preventative measures to protect the secrecy of magic. Once done giving his orders, the old man looked down at his unfinished work and then to the tree whose light was beginning to fade. He groaned as he stood up.

"This is abuse of the elderly," He muttered towards the tree as he began to make his way out of the administrative office. As he left the building, he was greeted by Kuzunoha.

"As for your orders, I have already dispatched two groups to handle this matter," She greeted respectfully as she bowed he head. The headmaster stopped and gave an answering nod.

"Very good, who is on the investigation team?" He inquired as the woman raised her head.

"Kataragi-san and Shakti-san," She answered in the same respectful tone.

"hmmm, those two..." Konoemon said thoughtfully as he began to turn away.

"We can handle the rest, Konoe-sama," spoke his head of operations curtly," We can report our findings in the morning. There is no need for you to worry on the matter any further."

"No need for such formalities," He replied with a laugh," With the amount of work I have left, I probably wouldn't get the report until the afternoon for...various reasons. This is a rather unusual occurrence and as such I wish to see to it myself."

"but sir-" She tried to implore.

"No, I insist," He cut her off in a light tone," It's never good to put business like this off," he continued while stroking his beard and ending in a chuckle before finishing with," Now come along Touko-chan!"

Kuzunoha Touko could only look down in chagrin and sigh before following Chief Konoe. They eventually arrived on site near the roots of the world tree. Kataragi soon reported in.

"I found nothing myself. However, I think Sister Shakti-san may have. She went ahead and ask that I report in and wait," The tall man in a black suit reported. At this Konoe raise an eyebrow.

"Hmmmm, did she by any chance give a reason for this?" He inquired with concern showing on his face.

"No I-"

"To preserve a young maiden's modesty," Answered a new voice as it cut through Kataragi-san's own not through volume but by virtue of its sharpness. The nun walked up to the group. She was no longer wearing her long black veil. Instead it was draped over the body of an unconscious young girl, her arms and legs left uncovered, she carried in her arms. The girl was obviously a foreigner. He features belonged in the west along with her long and almost reddish chestnut colored hair.

"Ahem, so where did you find this girl?" Kuzunoha spoke curtly to bring the two men's attention back to the matter at hand.

"She was curled up and sleeping on one of the higher branches," Shakti replied in mirroring curtness.

"Hooo, a child that high up?" Konoemon thought out loud," and no clothing... Are there any signs of an intruder besides the little miss?" He inquired to which both Shakti and Kataragi shook their heads," I see... It looks like the child is somehow the cause for tonight's incident. See to it she is cared for until she is able to answer some questions for me in my office," He ordered in a tone close to his usual one but delivered with a look of authority to the two before turning his attention to Kuzunoha as they left," Until then, I need to know more about her. Get in touch with the magic world. The gate may have just been used."

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><p>The girl woke up in a strange white room on a bed. <em>Where am I?<em> She thought as she started to sit up. As she looked around in confusion, a blonde haired busty woman with glasses and a strange- a long white coat walked in. At this moment her disorientation seemed to fade as the strangely alien thoughts became familiar.

"Oh! you're awake," The woman commented warmly in mild surprise before smiling and offering," Are you hungry dear? I can bring you a meal if you wish"

At the very mention of food, her stomach started to growl. She winced. There was no question what her answer would be.

"Oh yeah, bring me some food and keep it coming lady," She happily declared in gusto with a broad smile. Shizuna had to bring hand to her mouth to contain her humor at such a sight and managed a polite chuckle.

"My, what an honest girl you are. And very forward as well. My name is Minamoto Shizuna. You may call me Shizuna," She stated politely but with a bit of mirth as she turned and left the infirmary. The girl didn't have to wait long before she came back with a tray of food and a small carton of milk. She quickly polished it off and asked for me. It wasn't until the fifth tray that the girl finally felt satisfied. In that time, there had been very little in the way of talk besides two words from the girl "more please". Now that she was at least satisfied, it was time to figure out where she was and what was going on.

"Thanks for the grub Shizuna. So now to the big question. Where am I and why am I here?" She blurted out in a somewhat serious tone. Shizuna simply smiled for a few seconds before answering.

"That's actually two questions, related as they are I'm sure, but ones that I can't answer," she replied kindly," but since you seem well enough to ask them, I guess it's time to go meet the headmaster," As she finished answering she walked to the young girl's bed side and helped her up and presented a school uniform to wear. When the girl shot her a look she smiled and said," certainly you don't mean to walk in public like that?"

At this the girl looked down at herself and realized she was only wearing a patient gown. Understanding Shizuna's reasoning now she began to change after Shizuna left the room and waited outside. Somehow everything strange simply became familiar after a second of disorientation. She eventually was dressed properly in the uniform and met up with the woman outside.

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><p>It had been two days since they found the girl. She had not awakened yet and there was no information found on her. Of course, they were still waiting on a report from the investigation being performed in the magic world. However, he was now with Professor Akashi discussing what they found upon examining her directly.<p>

"While there is nothing physically wrong with her, we did find one factor startling," Akashi began his report. His gaze held by the papers showing the results of what he was to report. There was no telling what the poor child had gone through or why she was left here...

"What is the problem, Akashi-san?" Konoemon broke silence and bringing Akashi out of his lapse into deep thought.

"She has a large capacity for magic and even seems to have used it, a lot. However, there is no lock," Akashi continued once more," This is usually proof of study or that someone else has been using her powers like a battery... And the strangeness doesn't end there. Further studies of the residual effects of magic within her body shows that someone has forcefully channeled exceedingly inhuman amounts of magic through her and her mind seems to be held by some form of advance magic that is slowly starting to fade. Finally, we also found residual flows of demonic energy. My conclusion on the matter is that someone was experimenting on her..."

Konoemon seemed to frown in thought after hearing this last bit. "Seemed" meaning that Akashi could see the unhappy look in the other man's eyes but not the expression hidden beneath his facial hair. As they stood in silence for a moment to allow the chief to absorb these new revelations, there was a knock at the door followed by a call from the secretary," Minamoto Shizuna has brought the child to see you sir."

"Let them in," Konoemon replied before glancing to Akashi," Until I say so, there will be no further discussion on matter," was all he ordered as his two new guests entered his office.

* * *

><p>Those last words the girl heard as she entered the room seemed to be serious. However, it was possible that it was nothing for her to be concerned about. If you start assuming everything is about yourself, you'd just be paranoid all the time, and that wasn't fun.<p>

"So, you're finally awake little one," The ancient bearded man spoke," My name is Konoe Konoemon and most around here simply refer to me as the Headmaster here at Mahora. So what might be your name?"

Silence as a small pain, fear, and the knowledge of old memories fading into oblivion as if they were never there filled the room as she now looked to the ground at her feet. She couldn't remember anything before waking up. However, the pain and fear simply faded into same void shortly after,"... I don't remember," she squeaked out as she raised her head to reveal a single tear that had escaped in that one moment unnoticed to the girl," I don't remember anything..."

The sight of this seemed to shock Shizuna but the old man frowned and nodded to the other guy in the room. He walked to her and placed his hand upon her head and mumbled some quiet gibberish. She thought she felt something else, but it had to be her imagination as the feeling simply faded before the man even removed his hand from her forehead before solemnly speaking a single word," Nothing"

_Nothing? As in my head is so empty I might as well not have a brain!?_ Before anyone could react or say anything more, she kicked the jerk in the shin... HARD.

"Nothing!? How dare you call me stupid!" She cried out as she grabbed the now retreating man's pant leg and delivered another vicious blow, for a child, to the same shin. From a mixture of shock, a little pain, and his balance being thrown off from the follow up, he stumbled and tripped before falling near the headmaster's desk and grabbing it for stability," I may be a kid, but I'm not going to stand by while someone makes a rude joke like that!"

Konoemon could not contain his mirth at the sight of such a spectacle. _That girl is a firecracker alright._ he let a chuckle slip at Akashi's expense before clearing his throat to get everyone's attention back to the matter at hand.

"So, I take it you are a smart little girl," he grinned and nodded a wink to her," So what's your opinion of magic?"

The girl simply glared at him as if she were considering whether he was serious or trying to make fun of her before speaking with a bit of vitriol," Old man, that joke wasn't funny the first time."

_Well, that answers that. Someone erased her memories..._ He nodded in understanding to the girl before continuing his discussion," Well, looks like we have a slight problem. No one seems to know you. Not even yourself. So we only have a few options," the girl settled down and nodded for him to go on," I would like to enroll you

here at the academy and help you out while trying to find your family," another nod of agreement," very well, then I guess there's only one matter left... Your name."

"Might I suggest allowing me to take guardianship of the child for the time? She can take on Minamoto family name," Shizuna kindly suggested.

"I'm afraid that would not work so well. She's to obviously foreign for a Japanese family name..." Konoemon rejected then a thought came to mind, a wonderfully funny idea. _Then again, better not. I'd never hear the end of it from Evangeline if I did that. Not to mention it could cause problems down the road. _As he sat there in thought, the child spoke up.

"Ummm, do I really that foreign?" She asked thoughtfully.

"Well, for a Japanese person, you do. However that does not mean you're an uncommon sight around here as this academy has many foreigners as well. And having a Japanese name with foreign looks is possible if you are of Japanese descent but if that were the case, you would still have some Japanese features. As far as I can tell by looking at you, you seem to be of purely western blood. I would like to not draw attention to you so it would be best to give you a western name to match your appearance," Konoemon explained to the child. She seemed to understand to a point and then asked a rather strange question.

"So what are the 'western' names like?" she asked with a straight face.

"I think I have a solution for this," a new voice chimed in standing at the door," I can claim her as an adopted child from one of my many trips around the world"

"Ah, Takahata-san, I guess that would work, but it might cause a little trouble considering the class I had in mind for her," The Headmaster sadly waved his hand in frustration. However, the adoption sounded like a good idea," However you have given me a good idea," he continued on as he turned his attention to the girl once more," How does Konoe Kono sound?"

The girl simply nodded in agreement with a frown of disinterest that said she didn't care as long as they get this business over with. Takahata simply chuckled in at the back of the room. No doubt at the Konoe family trait for unimaginative names.

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><p>Two years later, Chao Lingshen stood before her new class. <em>This is it<em>. She thought as she introduced herself. _With this, there is no turning back. These next two years will be the most critical-_

She stopped mid introduction when she realized that something was wrong. There was a face among the students that she knew should not have been there. She had researched extensively and memorized the faces of her soon to be class mates and the girl she now noticed was not in those records. _Who is-_

"Is something the matter Lingshen-san?" Takahata questioned with a little concern as he started to follow her gaze.

"Why no, of course not!" She answered hurriedly to distract him from figuring out who was the object of her shock. _This is a matter I'll have to address carefully._


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- Don't own any of the intellectual properties being used.

AN: Hey there! Sorry this took a couple weeks to post. I'm gonna try and put myself on a better schedule. Also, I apologize if anyone feels my chapters are too short. I plan to work on this over time as I get back into the habit of writing (while I have never posted a story publicly, I did use to write). On a side note, I am always trying to improve. So if you could, please leave a review to help me in this endeavor. In any case, please enjoy.

(also on a side note, I have not TOUCHED and have no intentions to reading UQ. For this reason if there is anything in this story that conflicts with it, please understand I am disregarding anything not in the negima manga itself as well as altering certain fact in Negima to work with this story.)

**Chapter 1**

This was not a good start. He had not only managed to anger the first student at the school he tried to talk to, but he finds out that she is one of _his_ soon to be students. That would have been bad enough for the boy so early in the morning as it was, but add in the fact that the headmaster had just assigned him to stay with said girl and his granddaughter, it made for a bad start to his career. He stared at the doorway where they had just left with a scowl. _Why does she have to be so mean, it's not my fault about any of this._

The Principal coughed to gain the boy's attention after having sent the girls away.

"Before you go there is one last thing I must inform you about," He proceeded in a serious tone only to stop to glance and give Shizuna a short nod before she left the room with them alone," There's a student in your class that you need to be wary of. She is Konoe Kono the child I took guardianship of four years ago. When it comes to the existence of magic, I must request you keep it a secret from her more so than others. I will not go into details on why, but understand this, her circumstances make it too dangerous. There are too many unknowns and signs of extreme danger."

The ancient mage paused for a moment to let this sink in to the boy's head. Negi seemed confused at first as he broke his gaze from the Konoemon and looked to his own feet in thought at these words. Finally he looked back up at the old man the same look.

"I-I understand the need to an extent… but can't you to me at least the reasons behind this? I am supposed to be her t-teacher after all," The boy requested sheepishly. The headmaster smiled for a moment and then shook his head a little before replying.

"I'm sorry, but that is where you are wrong Negi. You are a probationary teacher. For the time being, I cannot allow you to know fully of such matters until you have earned your license. For the time being, focus on the task at hand," Upon finishing his answer, Konoemon waved the boy off. Signaling the boy could go now. As Negi made his way to the door, Konoemon decided to give him one last bit of information and a request," She has amnesia. Should she begin to remember anything please contact me or Takahata-san."

Negi's mood lightened a little at this small gesture and answered respectfully," I will," before leaving the office to attend to his first day as a teacher.

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><p>It was a normal day for class 2-A. The class had not started yet and the girls were milling about the room in groups chatting with friends and doing their usual business. Kono sighed as she sat at her desk and looked out the nearby window. She heard someone approaching. She glanced over to see Chao was walking up to her. <em>Gotta hand it to her, she's persistent.<em> She thought as the approaching girl waved a greeting to a friend as she continued on toward Kono. It wasn't that Kono disliked her roommate. They were on good enough terms since they had to share the same room for 2 years. The problem started up when she established her own personal business, the Chao Bao Zi. Ever since then she had been trying to get Kono to join as a waitress. She had turned down every offer so far. Chao had, however, been respectful enough to not bother her about it in the dorms.

"Let me guess, this about the job?" She spoke to her roommate in a level tone while still looking out the window. Then an unexpected sound greeted the chestnut haired girl's ears. Chao had sighed.

"In a way, I wanted to let you know that I will no longer be bothering you with it," She seemed to mutter something under her breath but all Kono heard was the word "late". Before Kono could respond to this as she turned fully to face Chao, she was greeted by her usual cheerful smile as Chao went on," However, feel free to ask me for a job anytime. There will always be a place for you."

She rushed off to continue her usual business in the morning and left a dumbfounded Kono staring at the morning chaos as Asuna and Konoka entered the room. It wasn't that she didn't like working, and she definitely could use the money. No, the problem was being a waitress. Somehow the thought of her being one in any form made the pit of her stomach sink and brought a chill to her heart with an overwhelming sense of dread as if from a lost memory. It seemed irrational, but the feelings were there all the same. It was at that precise moment that another visitor dropped by. This time it was her friend Kazumi. They got along fairly well. Especially, since they managed to come by good info for each other. Kono always was looking for a good way to make some extra money here and there, and with enough information in her hands, she would always hatch some sort of plan. While a little underhanded at times, she always made sure to never scam someone as a bad reputation could be costly in the long run. Not to mention she liked having friends more so than enemies.

"Hey Kono-chan, have you heard the news?" she began excitedly with that grin of hers that always spoke of a good scoop," Our class is apparently getting a new teacher!"

The day had barely started and it already seemed that everyone Kono dealt with today was intent on surprising her. Takahata had been one of the teachers present in that room four years ago. When he became her teacher in middle school, she had been happy to have a teacher that had been present back then," What happened to Takahata-sensei?"

"Nothing as far as I know, just that someone else is taking over his class," was all she got from Kazumi Asakura before she left to take her seat and check over her camera. Apparently the wait inspired the Narutaki twins into setting up a prank for the teacher. It only got more elaborate as the teacher became increasingly late with Kasuga's help. Meanwhile the rest of the class began taking their seats and settling down. Finally the cracked open sliding door began to open as a young boy began to enter. That was when it happened. The eraser had in fact stopped. Not for long. In fact, most would have passed it off as the mind playing tricks on them, but Kono noticed that it had stopped long enough for the boy to see it before it finished its descent. The boy now white from chalk dust now continued to walk in coughing as he spoke.

"I see… You really got me there-," was all he managed to get out before he tripped over a rope that sent him tumbling through an assortment of humiliating traps until he smashed into the front desk. Shizuna, who was standing at the way, winced at the sight as the class exploded into laughter while others stared in confusion for a moment. _Maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks… _Kono thought as she watched the pandemonium with a smirk. This quickly ended when they realized that a young kid had fallen into the trap instead of the mysterious new teacher they were waiting for. At this sight the instigators and several others including Yukihiro Ayaka, or Iinchou as most everyone knew her by now, came rushing to check on the poor kid and to apologize. That was when Shizuna clapped and got everyone's attention.

"He IS your new teacher!" She called out while turning to the foreign boy," Come on, come introduce yourself Negi-kun."

As Negi went to stand behind the front desk after agreeing, the others quickly got back to their seats. He had dark reddish hair, wore glasses and a formal suit, and carried a long object wrapped in bandages on his back. He introduced himself as their new homeroom teacher as well as their English teacher. _Ma- what? Wonder what he was about to say. Probably just mincing his words outta nervousness. God I'm being paranoid today…_ She thought once more as the class erupted into chaos at once as many screamed about his cuteness. The girls swarmed the kid teacher and began interrogating him. It was a few minutes into this that Asuna broke through the crowd and held the boy by the front of his suit.

"Hey you! What did you do with the blackboard eraser back there!? " she yelled out," You did something weird, didn't you?

"Eh?"

The boy seemed flustered as the older red head girl pressed in for a clear answer. _Ok, well that answers whether I saw I it or not…_ Kono concluded as she watched Iinchou get involved in the boy's defense. Kono decided it would be best to hold off on involvement until later. She was not in the mood to get involved in their antics again after all that's gone on this morning.

Flashback-

**Her first day in Mahora**

"Now I want you all to give a warm welcome to your newest classmate," The teacher instructed as she motioned at the door for Kono to enter," Her name is Konoe Kono."

As Kono entered the room, she looked to her class to see them for the first time. They seemed to be a lively group if nothing else. She smirked as she gave a greeting wave to her class and walked over to an open desk before the teacher said anything further.

"wait Kono-cha-" The teacher started, but was cut off by a student.

"Hey!" a blonde girl with long hair yelled with authority as she grabbed Kono's shoulder," The teacher wasn't done yet and aren't you at least going to introduce yourself?"

Kono sighed before brushing the hand from her shoulder and began to recite her introduction," Yeah, yeah fine. I'm Konoe Kono who has been recently adopted by the headmaster and have nothing more to say."

Suddenly other girl reached out and twisted Kono around unexpectedly then grabbed the front of her shirt before angrily pressing on," That can't be all. What's with your attitude on your first day!?"

"Uh oh, is this going to be a fight?" called out another girl in the class followed by whispers of a betting pool.

"Let her be Iinchou !" yelled out a red head with twin tails as she made her way over to Kono," If she doesn't want to talk then let it be you tyrant!"

"Tyrant!? Like I need to hear that from a violent monkey like you!"

This was coming up to the last straw. All she wanted was to get this over quickly so she could avoid the whole sob story about amnesia and the pity that would come with it. Now she was in the middle of a spectacle that was looking to turn violent any second and judging by the rest of the class's behavior, especially the betting pools, this was going to get violent. Then she noticed something. Something that most people probably would not have not noticed in this particular situation. No one had taken bet on her since the red head, Asuna she believed she heard during the still ongoing chatter, joined the fray. Ok, so it was a small thing, but as the saying goes t was the straw to break the camel's back. While the two girls were arguing with each other, she walked between them and patted them on their shoulders.

"Now, now let's make two things clear," she spoke sweetly as the two, now remembering that she was there, looked at each other in confusion," First and foremost, I don't care for threats," she spoke coldly to the Iinchou as she tightened the grip on her shoulder," And I am perfectly good at handling myself!" she spat out angrily to Asuna as she pulled Iinchou forward, twist around her and delivered a kick to her backside. The blonde was caught by surprise as she found herself stumbling into the red head and knocking them both to the ground. The class was silent. Apparently no one was expecting that from the new girl.

"Kono!" The teacher yelled as she finally got her chance to seize control of the situation in that silence," This is unacceptable behavior and on your first day!" she continued on sternly as she made her way to the three trouble makers," And you two! I this is not how we should greet new students. I want you all to apologize and then report in for detention after class!"

Later at lunch Kono she overheard a girl, Haruna she believed, gloating about making a killing for not retracting her bet on the new girl.

End Flashback

_Not again…_ She mentally affirmed as she watched a similar situation start only to be diffused by Shizuna. After that, the class settled down and got started with Iinchou's overly enthusiastic aid. However, it would seem that Asuna was not content with leaving the matter be and had begun to torment their poor would be teacher throughout the rest of the class as she flicked bits of her pencil eraser at him. _While lacking in brains or subtlety that girl has some amazing strength as always._ Kono noted once more. Eventually the situation ended up with another near fight at the end of the class that only stopped because the class bell rang. This left the little teacher sulking. As everyone filed out and began heading to the next class she noticed Negi, Asuna, and her adoptive relative talking to Takahata-sensei. It looked to her as though the older man knew their new teacher. _Gah, does that girl ever stop swooning over him? Oh well, at least thanks to her I have something of a little project to keep me busy for a little while._

After school Kono was going to tail Negi and start gathering information on him, but then she remembered Nodoka was going to be going to the library to pick up some books. While this may not seem all too important, Kono had taken to helping with this due to how dangerous it can be to carry such a large load with all the large stairways on the campus. That was when she saw it… Asuna had gone off the deep end this time and was abducting a terrified Negi into the woods with a crazed look in her eyes. Nodoka sat on the ground with books scattered about her near a large stairway. _Ok, what the hell Asuna! I thought if anyone would ever do this it'd be Iinchou…_ She thought angrily as she now gave chase after the bell headed moron. Unfortunately, she lost sight of them in the woods. _Damn that girl is fast… I do not want to miss out on whatever comes of this madness_. She knew Asuna must of seen something back there to be pulling this. The problem was what?

That was when Kono came upon a scene that was too unreal to believe. The boy had taken the object on his back out to reveal that it was a staff.

"You found out my secret, so I'll have to erase your memory!" the boy cried out as he held the staff up. Asuna seemed to be shocked and scared. _What the hell?_ As Kono thought this from her vantage point, wind seemed to emanate from the boy as the grass and surrounding foliage swayed away from him in all directions," You might become a tad empty-headed, but I can't allow you to tell anyone!"

At that moment Kono noticed someone was behind her. The last thing she saw was Takahata-sensei.

* * *

><p>Konoemon sat at his desk handling paperwork as always. <em>I really should see about making a spell to do this sort of thing for me…<em> That was when the doors to the office opened to admit Takahata carrying in the unconscious body of the headmaster's adopted child. _This can't be good. Boy was not here for a day and this happened… Seems to have the same capability to stir up trouble… this will be fun._ The old man thought to himself with a smile.

"What happened?" the headmaster demanded when he noticed a developing bruise on the girl's chin.

"There's been something of an incident. Asuna came across the secret and caused a scene in front of Kono… When I found them in the woods on campus, Kono had already witnessed the boy beginning to cast a spell…" Konoemon expected to hear more details on this but found Takahata unwilling to detail what must have been a spectacular blunder for all parties involved judging by the minute slip of his professional expression," As such, I took the only immediately action I could with Kono due to my own disability."

"I see…" Was all that Konoemon said for a moment as he thought of the best course of action," For now we should leave the situation regarding the other two alone. As for Kono, I'll take care of erasing her memories of the incident. How far back do I need to go?"

"I'd say as far back as the end of today's classes to be safe," Takahata answered as he sat Kono down in a chair in the office," I'm sorry, but I must excuse myself. I have a party to attend and I do not want to draw any unwanted attention with my tardiness."

"Wait, before you go. Does the boy know about yours and Kono's involvement in the incident," Konoemon quickly request in worry. _I don't want to get involved. The boy needs to learn to handle these matters himself, but I may have to if he knows about Kono._

"I knocked her out before anyone saw her there. However I did make my presence known as a means to further distract them from noticing her and to get them out of the immediate area to extract her unnoticed," Takahata reported before quickly adding," I'm sorry, but I really must be on my way."

At this the headmaster nodded his assent and watched the other man leave. _Well, at least the situation is under control for now._ At this thought the old man had an interesting idea. _Why not make this more interesting._ Over the past four years, the investigation into Kono's real identity had turned up no answers. He was able to get confirmation that the gate had in fact not been used but no other real news ever came. However, one thing had been discovered by professor Akashi. He had found that her magic profile matched that of the ancient ways of magic. Those practices had long since been thought to be extinct in lost and are considered to be forbidden. It is said that the practitioners of the old art were once called by a different name but they became known as witches and warlocks later on. Even now there is a standing order in the magic world that forbade even researching the lost art. It was for these reasons and one more that chief Konoe had abandoned the investigation recently and tried to lead the girl into a normal life. The other reason was that every country in the magical world had signed and acknowledged an ancient treaty that stated all witches and warlocks were to be executed.

At this moment however, Konoemon came to a decision. He would trust that man's son to lead this girl into finding the truth about herself and give Kono the freedom to choose her own future. With this thought in mind, he only erased the last few minutes of her conscious memory. In time, the girl would rediscover the truth of that day and Konoemon only hoped she wouldn't be too angry for this and the past four years of secrecy. However, it was best to give the boy some time to grow a little even if it was only a little. _Best of luck to you, Kono-chan and Negi-kun. _He thought as he went to heal her.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Kono woke to the sound of a door opening. Kono stirred in her bed as she tried to make sense of where she was and her last memories. <em>Why am I in the dorms. The last thing I remember is entering the woods chasing after Asuna.<em> That was when her head throbbed in pain. She groaned and started to reach for her head.

"Kono-chan, are you ok?" she heard Chao cry out in alarm as she slammed the door shut and rushed to the bed side. The pain was throbbing intensely for a few seconds causing Kono to cry out. Suddenly the pain receded and more memories from that afternoon flooded. She had witnessed what she could only think as magic that day. That was when she noticed that the memories did not stop. She now witnessed from some disembodied vantage point as Takahata carried her into her guardian's office and listened to their conversation. It was surreal for a moment, but as it sunk in that whatever had happened was real, her shock was replaced by another emotion. Anger. Then she remembered that day four years ago when she was asked about magic. Chao actually backed away in fear at the look of pure rage that now took over Kono's face.

"THOSE BASTARDS WILL PAY FOR THIS!" She screamed out with such volume as to wake up the entirety of the dormitory and be heard throughout Mahora. In fact, one Konoe Konoemon froze in terror and disbelief at this all the way back in his office as he was preparing to go home for the night after finally finishing the mountain of paperwork he had backed up that day.

"Umm, Kono-chan, what happened?" Chao asked just before footsteps could be heard rushing and the door slamming open as a number of the girls from class 2-a came to check on what had happened. While Kono was known for her temper, this had to be the angriest they've heard her. Not only that, their new teacher made his way to the front to see what had happened. Kono simply seethed for a moment as she collected herself before turning to face them.

"I'm sorry," she spoke to her classmates in an almost level tone that was still dripping with fury. She then focused her attention on her teacher and continued," Negi-sensei, there's something I need to discuss with you tomorrow after school," as she finished she shoved everyone out and slammed the door before turning back to her room and facing Chao. Chao's face took on a more serious expression. One that spoke of knowing. Kono did not like the possibilities behind that.

"I take it you learned something… unpleasant?" she asked with that knowing look in her eyes. Something about this and her constantly breaking grasp of reality that day had caused the fury within Kono to disappear. She was filled with terror and something else. _How many have been hiding this from me. Is this girl she thought of as a friend going to finish the job of keeping this secret. Is it possible that her memories were all wiped away so long ago because of this._ And as if to answer a long forgotten and ancient despair, tears began to fill her eyes. At this the other girl was startled and went to embrace Kono in a hug," I'm not one of them, you have nothing to fear from me," she tried to assure her friend. Then Kono remembered what the girl had said. _There will always be a place for you._

"Thank you Chao-chan," Kono spoke softly as she slumped in the other girl's arms. The reassurance that now filled her seemed to sap away some of her fear and sorrow. After five minutes, she found the strength to go sit down on her bed as Chao brought up a chair to in front of her.

"Are you fine to talk about it?" She asked. Kono shook her head.

"Not right now. I need to sort through this on my own," she spoke quietly to the girl before going to bed as if to declare that there would be nothing more said about this until Kono was ready. However as Chao made her way to her own bed, two words drifted to her ears once again," Thank you."


End file.
